Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 204
| StoryTitle1 = What Happened to Nightcrawler? | Synopsis1 = Nightcrawler has spent all night brooding in the rain on the balcony of his girlfriend Amanda Sefton. When he realizes it's morning after Amanda wakes up, he teleports into the bathroom and cleans himself off. When he begins his day by having a drink, Amanda tells him that the X-Men called and that they are okay, but asks him what's wrong. He explains that since he had his pan-dimensional adventure the previous year , his life of adventure and swashbuckling and the carefree adventures with the X-Men have changed. When Amanda asks why, Nightcrawler tells her that she wouldn't understand and teleports back out onto the balcony again. She goes out there and begs him to open up to her. He explains that ever since he encountered the Beyonder, a god-like being that has rattled his faith down to the bone, he is unsure of who he is because what gave him meaning has been proving that it doesn't exist and therefore he does not know who he is anymore either. He angrily asks her if she can actually help him with that. He explains to her that when the X-Men went off to fight the Beyonder in San Francisco he was asked to stay behind and he was relieved. His past encounters with the Beyonder has made him wonder what is real anymore. He openly wonders if Amanda used some spell to make him love her. Insulted by this, Amanda grabs her bags and storms off for her job with the airline. Nightcrawler realizes too late that it was the wrong thing to say, but the opportunity to take it back has passed. All he can do is howl like some animal. Hearing this from below, Amanda briefly considers going back up to him, but does not want to be rejected again and catches a cab to Kennedy airport. As they drive away, the Hack makes a joke about the rain, pointing out to a jogger nearby that they are nuts to be out exercising in this weather. The jogger in question continues on her jog, unaware that a very familiar, very sinister garbage truck has began to follow her. Up on Amanda's balcony, Nightcrawler hears what he believes is the familiar noise of one of Arcade's rigged garbage trucks makes when it captures a mark and decides to investigate. Teleporting out to Central Park he sees a garbage truck being driven by Arcade's aide Mr. Chambers and decides to go to the rescue of whatever poor soul managed end up on Arcade's hit list. Following the truck to an abandoned amusement park, Nightcrawler finds an access to Arcade's Murderworld through a fake trash can and breaks his way into the facility. Meanwhile, Arcade's latest victim was the jogger who was out earlier in the evening. After being taunted by Arcade, she is launched through his usual battery of Murderworld traps: The gigantic electrified pin-ball machine, and simulated scenes using a combination of robots and holograms. The jogger's fitness enables her to avoid the robots disguised as British fox hunters and giant sharks. Before she can get bitten by the mechanical shark, Nightcrawler teleports in and saves her. Taking her to safety, she finds that she thinks that he is one of Arcade's tricks and when he tries to convince her otherwise she doesn't believe him. He realizes the irony of the fact that she is saying almost the exact words that he said to Amanda earlier in the evening. He asks her to trust him, and without any other choice the young woman decides to follow along. Arcade, having detected Nightcrawler's presence in his Murderworld finds this new development amusing and hopes that it can make things more interesting. He chases after the two, holographically projecting his head onto one of his robot bodies and chasing them in a dune buggy with an army of robots. Finding their own vehicle, Nightcrawler and the woman attempt to escape. Nightcrawler manages to get the advantage thanks to his superior driving skills. But when Arcade sends simulation World War I fighter planes after them, he is forced to leave the girl to teleport into the air and deal with them. Using his flying skills he manages to shoot out the other planes and cause them to crash on the cars chasing them. The woman's car runs out of fuel in a China town simulation and she is enticed into a "sanctuary" by Miss Locke; however this is a trap and she is surrounded by more robots with knives. Nightcrawler comes to her rescue her and swears to Arcade the they will get out of Murderworld alive. When Arcade balks as this, he is surprised when what appears to be the X-Men smash their way into his control room and destroy the controls allowing Nightcrawler and his companion to escape. Arcade realizes too late that these are not X-Men at all, but some of the robot duplicates of his own creation and realizes that Nightcrawler must have programmed them to attack when he first broke into his facility. This turn of events gives Arcade a good laugh and he decides to let the X-Man and his companion go free. When Nightcrawler brings the girl home, he detects someone in her apartment and crashes in. These men shock both her and Nightcrawler when they reveal that they are members of the Ruritanian government, and that this young woman, Judith Rassendyll is the last of the Elfsburgs and as such has been named queen of that country. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * Antagonists: * * * Other Characters: * Various robots and holograms of Murderworld * Arcade's X-Men robots ** Storm robot ** Colossus robot ** Wolverine robot ** Rogue robot * , of the Ruritanian National Guard * , of the State Department Locations: * ** *** **** ***** Upper West Side **** North Bronx ***** * Vehicles: * Dune Buggy * WWI biplanes | Notes = | Trivia = * The name Rassendyll and the country of Ruritania are fictional names from Anthony Hope's novel 'The Prisoner of Zenda' | Recommended = | Links = * - See for further referencing }}